The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences ranked No. 1 in the annual survey of museums and historic attractions for 2012, according to results released this morning by Carolina Publishing Associates, which compiles the data. It is the first change in the top spot during the nine years of the survey.

On Saturday, March 16 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the main Museum and the Nature Research Center will be transformed into a herpetological paradise. Free! From boas to pythons, pit vipers to rattlesnakes, visitors can get up close and personal with all manner of serpents as well as live frogs, toads, salamanders, turtles, lizards and crocodilians.

Dr. Dianne Glave will give a talk at the Museum titled, "Appeasing the Spirits of Millions of Things Organic & Inorganic: A History of African- American Spirituality on the Land" on Wednesday, March 6 at 7 p.m. in the Museum’s Auditorium.

RALEIGH — Evil, as venomous as a snake, turns the quiet of this town into a writhing Hell on Earth. Where every man fears for his safety and his sanity. Where everyone is suspect. Trapped like animals in a cage.